Samuel jesselson



No Model.)

S. JESSELSON.

HARMONICA.

No. 546,157. Patented Sept. 10,1s95..

INVENTOH W/TNESSES:'

A TTOHNEYS.

UNITED STATES PATENT QEEICE.

SAMUEL JESSELSON, OF NEW YORK, N. Y., ASSIGNOR TO B. ILLFELDER (St (30., A

OF SAME PLACE.

HARMONICA.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 546,157, dated September 10, 1895.

Application filed December 27, 1894. Serial No. 533,110. (No model.)

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, SAMUEL J'ES SELSON, of New York city, in the county and State of New York, have invented a new and useful Improvement in Harmonicas, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description.

Myinven'tion relates to an improvementin harmonicas, and it has for its object to proto vide a reversible dust-proof case for the instrument, and, furthermore, to so construct the instrument itself that it will have sliding and guiding movement in the case, the case being so constructed that it may assume two different positions. In one position the case will expose the blow-holes and the exhaust or air openings, while in the other position of the case the blow-holes of the instrument,'together with the exhaust or air openings, will be closed, enabling the instrument to be carried in the pocket or stored away without danger of dust or other extraneous matter entering the instrument.

Another object of the invention is to so construct the case that the instrument may be performed upon While in the case or whereby the instrument may be withdrawn from the case in a complete state.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of the several parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed out in the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part of this specification,

3 5 in which similar figures and letters of reference indicate corresponding parts in all the views.

Figure 1 is a perspective view of the harmonica, illustrating the casing thereof and the harmonica in reversed position in the easing, the openings in the harmonica proper being closed and likewise the openings in the casing. Fig. 2 is a View similar to Fig. 1, illustrating the harmonica in a position the 5 reverse of that shown in Fig. 1 or in a posi- In carrying out the invention the mouth harmonica A, to be employed in connection with the casing B, is of the ordinary construction, being provided with one set of blowholes 10 in the base or body plate 11 thereof, the base or body plate being provided with the usual reed-plates 12 and sheathing 13, whereby the harmonica is-complete in itself, and the sheathing has the usual exhaust or air openings 14 made in its lower portions. The harmonica, however, differs from those of the ordinary construction, inasmuch as a longitudinal slideway or groove 15 is produced both at top and bottom in each of its sides, the grooves or slideways extending from end to end of the instrument, and these grooves or slideways are ordinarily located between the inner edges .of the sheathing and opposing faces of the reed-plates, and to that end the reed-plates are provided at top and bottom with a longitudinal recess 16, and the sheating at both top and bottom edges is bent over and inward upon itself, as shown at 17 in Fig. 4, whereby it will substantially overlap the rabbeted portions of the reed-plates. Thus it will be understood that the slideways or channels 15 are virtually formed by the overlapping of the sheathing upon the said reed-plates.

The sheathing is beveled at top and bottom in the ordinary way, the upper bevels a of the sheathing forming guides or bearing-surfaces for the lips of the performer, while the lower beveled surfaces 01, have the exhaust or air openings 14 made therein.

The casing B is best shown in Fig. 5, and is usually made from one piece of metal or other material, or it may be otherwise produced if in practice it is found desirable. This casing is adapted in cross-sectional shape to correspond to that of the harmonica, and is of such size as to receive the harmonica within it. Therefore the casing may be said to comprise two side panels 18 and 19, a bottom panel 20, and upwardly-inclined panels 21 connecting the bottom with the side panels, and in said inclined panels openings 22 are made, adapted to register with the exhaust or air openings 14 of the harmonica.

The construction of the casing is completed by the addition of two inclined panels 23, ex-

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tending from the top of the side panels inwardly and upwardly in direction of each other, but these panels stop short of each other, forming in the top of the casing a longitudinal opening 24, extending from end to end thereof; and the said upper inclined panels 23 at their inner ends are bent downward to form flanges or slides 25, adapted to enter the slideways or channels 15 in the instrument.

In operation the harmonica is slid in the casing by causing the slide 25 of the latter to enter the Ways 15 in the former, and when the blow-holes of the harmonica are placed uppermost in entering the harmonica in the casing the said blow-holes will be exposed at the upper longitudinal opening 24E of the casing and the exhaust or air openings 1% in the barmonica-sheathing will be brought in registry with the corresponding openings 22 in the casing, and the instrument may be played as readily as though the casing were not upon it, or theinstrument may be played upon when entirely removed from the casing.

By reversing the position of the instrumentnamely, placing the blow-holes downward-the instrument is entered in the casing in the same manner as described, and the closed bottom portion of the base or body plate of the instrument will then fill up the longitudinal space 2i in the casing, and the exhaust or air openings 14: in the harmonica will be completely closed by the upper inclined walls 23 of the casing, and the upper inclined portions a of the harmonicasheathing, or those inclined portions adjacent to the mouth-holes, will serve to com pletely close the openings 22 in the casing.

It will readily be observed that under this form of easing the harmonica is rendered dust-proof, and that no extraneous matter can gain access thereto. At the same time the instrument may be readily reversed and performed upon as readily when within the casing as when removed therefrom, thus preventing the casing from being lost or misplaced by reason of it having to be laid at one side while the harmonica is in use.

It will be understood that in order to make the casing reversible and obtain a dust-proof engagement thereof with the harmonica in either position the upper part of the casing must be substantially a duplicate of its lower part-that is, the receiving space of the casing must be substantially symmetrical relatively to the median plane which is parallel to the bottom panel 20.

It will be further understood that by male ing the receiving space of the casing similar in cross-section to the harmonica the latter will be in close contact with all sides of the casing in either the performing or the reversed position, thus rendering the instrument entirely dust-proof.

Having thus described my invention, 1 claim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent 1. The combination, with a harmonica having grooves or slide-ways in four longitudinal surfaces, of a protective casing having a longitudinal openingin one side and perforations in the opposite side, the casing being provided with slides adapted to enter sundry of the slide-ways of the harmonica, substantially as and for the purpose specified.

2. The combination, with a harmonica hav ing slide-ways extending longitud inally at top and bottom thereof, of a reversible protective casing having a longitudinal opening and slides near the margin of the opening, as and. for the purpose specified.

The combination, with a harmonica having slide-ways extending longitudinally at the top and bottom thereof, of a reversible protective casing having a longitudinal opening and slides near the margin of the opening, the said casing being provided with apertures adapted to register with the exhaust openings of the harmonica when the blow holes of the said harmonica are at the longitudinal opcning of the casing, substantially as described.

4. A reversible casing for l1armonicas,comprising two side panels, a bottom panel, two upwardly and outwardly inclined panels connectiug the bottom panel with the side panels, the said inclined panels being apertured, and two inclined panels extending upwardly and inwardly from the side panels, the edges of the said inclined panels being spaced apart a distance about equal to that of the bottom panel and forming a longitudinal opening for disclosing the blow openings of the instrument, substantially as shown and described.

SAMUEL JESSELSON. lVitnesses:

SIG-MUND LEVY, Moses B. SCHMIDT. 

